Liberal and Progressive Jews Welcome Hamas/PA Reconciliation

News Release: From TIKKUN MAGAZINE,
the voice of liberal and progressive Jews

Liberal and
progressive Jews in the U.S. are mildly optimistic after the
announcement of a reconciliation between the Palestinian
Authority and the Hamas. Many believe that such a
reconciliation bodes well for a lasting peace agreement,
though not necessarily within the limited framework being
proposed by Sec. of State Kerry.

Rabbi Michael Lerner,
editor of Tikkun, expressed this sudden hopefulness: "For
years those opposed to reconciliation between Israel and
Palestine have maintained that Israeli negotiations with the
Palestinian Authority were pointless, because the PA did not
represent the most militant elements in the Palestinian
world, organized in and around Hamas and the Gaza Strip.
Today, those refusing peace, perhaps fearful that Israeli
settlers would have to stop expanding their settlements, are
condemning the reconciliation of Hamas and Palestine,
showing the hypocrisy of their previous position. Most of us
liberal and progressive Jews, strong supporters of Israel
who know that Israel's survival can best be assured by a
lasting peace with the Palestinian people, welcome this
development. While we unequivocally oppose the use of
violence, and have consistently denounced Hamas-sponsored
acts of terrorism even as we similarly condemned the
violence inherent in the daily reality of Israel's
occupation of the West Bank and its blockade of Gaza, we
understand that Hamas has agreed to honor all previous
Palestinian agreements--a face-saving way to acknowledge the
Palestinian Authority's public recognition of Israel and its
commitment to a non-violent path toward achieving statehood.
While violence prone Israeli-settlers and their champions in
the Knesset , and Palestinian extremists, are both likely to
engage in acts of violence against the civilians on both
sides in the coming period in order to inflame passions and
disrupt any progressive for peace, and those against
reconciliation will almost certainly use those acts as proof
that the other side cannot be trusted, there is a growing
desire for peace in both Palestine and Israel, and Hamas'
agreement to reconcile with the Palestinian Authority is a
strong symbolic step toward recognizing that its own
followers want to end this struggle and work out a peace
agreement. It is therefore stupid and counter-productive for
the U.S. government to react with skepticism and talk about
his not being a good development when in fact we in the U.S.
should be encouraging this development and urging Israel to
accelerate its negotiations with the Palestinians now that
the PA can speak for the entire Palestinian people currently
living in
Palestine."

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